


All Roads Lead to Midnight

by Aerilon452



Category: Midnight Texas (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-25
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-12-19 14:37:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11899821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aerilon452/pseuds/Aerilon452
Summary: Lem and Olivia spend a quiet evening together before she leaves on one of her jobs.





	1. Chapter 1

Midnight was being unusually quiet, and it was being noticed by all of its inhabitants. Lemuel Bridger, chief vampire in residence, was stretched out across his bed, the red satin of the comforter absorbed the coldness of his flesh. He was reading one of the numerous leather bound classics. Tonight his choice was War & Peace. For whatever reasons, he wasn’t sure what made him pull this old copy off the shelf. Astride his backside was his paramour, Olivia Charity. She had a file folder open across his back. He could feel every abbreviation she jotted down with her pen. “What does this potential job entail?” Lemuel asked as he turned the page.

Olivia Charity was working on the logistics of her next assignment. She’d already worked out when and where her target would die. Now she was working on her exit strategy. This job would take her all the way to Miami, Florida. And it would have the added bonus of throwing her father off her scent. Misdirection was her favorite tool, and if she could take out another undeserving wretch… then the better she would feel. Olivia made another small note and then answered her lover. “Some rich drunk asshole beating his poor defenseless wife.”

“I assume it’s the wife that would like her husband shown the way into eternal sleep,” Lemuel mused in his colorful fashion. He liked to know what Olivia was planning, and who exactly her job would be like so he would know how much to worry about her. She knew how to handle herself, and how to get out of tough situations. It should be enough to keep him from worrying, but because he loved her so much, the worry always came when she left town. 

Olivia smirked as Lem’s choice of words, “Yeah. She’s already out of town, visiting a sick mother or something like that. Apparently, the house belongs to her, and was left to her by her father, but the husband refuses to move out, and refuses to sign the divorce papers.” Normally, Olivia wouldn’t care about the minutia of the job, but when it came to a man beating a woman, then she cared. It was one of her buttons.

“Ah…” Lemuel nodded, closing his book. The moment his muscles tensed, indicating that he was turning over, the folder disappeared from his back, and she rose to her knees. Once he was settled on his back, Olivia resumed her place. It had him licking his lips. He loved looking up at her, and instantly his hands went to her thighs; the tips of his fingers touching the bottom of the royal purple kimono she had on. They didn’t linger long. They slipped up over the silk until he was untying the sash keeping it closed. 

Oliva was fighting the urge she had to grin like the Cheshire cat. “Babe, I have to finish this,” she said, even though there was no anger or irritation in her voice.

“Feels like you’re finished to me,” Lem replied playfully. He knew that once she took a job, she would be leaving Midnight until it was done. He wanted to monopolize as much of her time as he could until then. 

“Oh, am I now?” Olivia arched her left brow, setting her folder aside. “And how would you know?” She felt her concentration waning the longer she looked into his powerful ice blue eyes. 

“I felt every stroke of your pen as you made your plans,” Lem stated as he pushed aside her kimono and exposed the black bra and panty set she was clad in. “You’ll approach from the water as the mansion faces the open ocean. From the safety and shelter the boat provides, you’ll wait for the target to make an appearance, and then you’ll take your shot.” Idly he drew the tip of his index finger down the center of her abdomen. 

Olivia nodded, very impressed with how well he’d deduced her plan. He conveniently left out that she was going to strip down her rifle and dump it in the ocean. It was a disposable, single shot weapon that was designed to be tossed away. The salt water would corrode the inside of the barrel and destroy any evidence she might have left – not that she would have done that. “And what’s my exit plan?” she asked in spite of herself. 

“You’ll return to the marina, leave the boat, and go back to the hotel to check out before going to the airport where you’ll get on a plane and return home.” Lem replied. The last part of her plan he liked the most. Olivia leaving always hurt his heart because he would miss her, but he knew she had to do what she it. She had this need to rid the world of all the “evil” people who cheated and took whatever they wanted. It helped her to reconnoiter her past and the brutality she survived.

“You really were paying attention,” Olivia chuckled.

“Well, you were using me as a table top,” Lemuel pointed out and it made her chuckle. He loved the moments they shared like this. 

Olivia planted her hands on the bed, leaning over Lem putting her lips close to his. She smiled before closing the distance, kissing him sweetly. No matter how long they were together, Olivia would never tire of the pull he had on her. She loved the way his hands glided up and down her sides, and around to grip the back of her thighs. His could touch had her shivering with desire. No other man touched her in the way he did; strong and possessive, gentle and loving. When she told him that he’d saved her, they weren’t just words. Lemuel had truly saved her from horrible fate. Without him, she would be a dark, irredeemable creature.

Lemuel knew no matter how long he lived that he would never know a love as complete as what he had with Olivia. She was his light in the darkness. The moment she’d walked into Midnight Pawn, there was this pull, this fascination they had in regards to each other. Now, they were nearly inseparable. At least until she had a job that took her out of Midnight. He always missed her when she was gone, and he delighted in welcoming her home. Lemuel broke the kiss, a smile forming on his lips. “When do you leave?”

Olivia actually felt her lips turning down in a pout; a playful one. “Tomorrow afternoon,” she answered. Her flight was direct to Miami, and once there she would spend a few days establishing her cover as a vacationer.

“Leave me your travel information, specifically when you return.” Lem said, and then rolled her beneath him. 

Olivia laughed, bringing her arms up and over his strong shoulder’s. “I’ll text you…”

“No,” Lem interrupted. “Write it down.” He had a grasp of using his phone, but he liked handwritten notes. Especially notes from Olivia. 

“Ok,” Olivia bit her bottom lip and smiled. “Is there some particular reason you want to know?”

“Perhaps I want to pick you up at the airport,” Lem replied. 

“Oh, well….” Olivia kissed him quickly. “It might so happen that my return flight gets in at night.” And then like that, their night took a passionate turn. 

 

MIAMA, FL:

 

Olivia hated traveling this far for a job, but the money was good. So, it was hard to turn it down. After living in Midnight for so long, she didn’t like being in a city with so many people. Too many faces, all of whom could be working for her father. It made her more than a little paranoid. Finally, her paranoia died down when she set foot on the boat Quinn had left for her use. 

After Olivia escaped her nightmarish life and her absentee father, she’d been found by a werewolf named Quinn. He was a hired killer, working a job when their paths had crossed. Somehow he saw she had potential to do the wet work he did, and he took her in, trained her, and then unleashed her on the world. A smirk crossed her lips when she remembered her time with Quinn. He gave her a skill that she used with vicious efficiency. Though, when the time had come for her to strike out on her own, he’d wanted her to stay with him. Olivia couldn’t. She knew she didn’t belong by his side. That knowledge was only reinforced when she landed in Midnight, when she met Lem. 

Half the day had gone by with Olivia pretending to fish. She cast her lines, set the poles, and then tried to look like a tourist. Spreading out a towel on the bow, she stretched out and soaked up some sun. Olivia couldn’t help the sigh of contentment that escaped her. As annoying as this job (the location) was, she did like that it afforded her the opportunity to relax until show time. 

Time had finally gone by, and Olivia made a show of reeling in her lines. She made it look like there was no fishing to be had in her current location. She disappeared below decks where her rifle was set up. Taking her place on the small camper stool, she wedged the butt of the rifle in against her shoulder and peered through the scope. The man she was hired to kill had just stepped outside on the back patio. He had no idea he was in danger, and that made Olivia smile her feral grin. She took a breath, aimed, and when he was in the right spot she pulled the trigger. And just like that, she’d earned her payday.

Olivia broke down the gun with ease and then disposed of a few pieces before going back up top. She turned over the engine, returning to the marina. Along the way, she tossed another piece of the rifle over board, and before she reached the dock, there was no trace that there was ever a weapon. After she tied the boat off, she grabbed her bag, and walked back to the hotel like it was a normal day of her vacation.

Once Olivia was back inside the safety of her room, she shimmied into a pair of tight black jeans, and threw on a loose fitting t-shirt, then slipped on a pair of black flats. She packed up her travel suitcase, made sure she had everything, and then headed down to the lobby to check out using her alias, Amanda Knight. Her cover was that of a working vacation that was only lasting a few days. Olivia was eager to get to the airport and take a flight back home to Texas. She missed Lem.

“I hope you enjoyed your stay with us,” the front desk agent, a lovely young woman with a cheerful smile, said as she set a slip of paper on the green marble counter top. 

Oliva signed quickly as she replied, “I did. Your accommodations have to be some of the best I’ve ever stayed in.” This made the other woman smile. 

“We hope you’ll stay here again,” she replied handing over a copy of the itemized bill. 

“I plan on it,” Olivia lied easily. With the receipt tucked away in her back, she went out to the valet stand where one of the parking attendants hailed her a taxi. 

In no time flat the taxi deposited Olivia at the airport. She walked confidently to the ticket counter searching the board for the right flight back to Texas. There was a flight in an hour, but that put her in Dallas during the day, and she promised Lem he could come and get her. 

“May I help you?”

Olivia gave the man behind the counter a dazzling, friendly smile. “Yes, I need to book a ticket to Dallas, one way.”

A few clock of the key board, and the man was saying, “We have a flight boarding in one hour. There are…”

“Actually,” Olivia interrupted sweetly, “is there a later flight?”

“Yes, we have another direct flight leaving in three hours.”

Olivia took a moment to calculate the time. It would be six pm when the flight would board. Two hours to get there, and it would be put her in at eight pm. Lemuel would be up by seven-thirty. By the time she was off the plane, through baggage claim, and walking towards the exit, he would be there. “That’s great. Thank you.” She pulled out a card belonging to her alias, and made her travel arrangements. 

Now that Olivia was away from the counter, she pulled out her cell phone and call Lem. “Hey babe, I finished work early, and am coming home. My flight will be in about 8pm.” Then she ended her call. She had some time to kill, so she roamed around the airport.

 

MIDNIGHT, TEXAS:

 

Lemuel woke at seven in the evening. He stretched, relishing the feel of the red satin sheets Olivia had a penchant for adorning the bed. Turning over he saw his phone was blinking. He had a new voicemail, and it was from Olivia. A smile curved his dark lips as he played her message. She was coming home a day early. If his heart could skip a beat, it would have. Rising from bed, he took a shower and then dressed in his dark jeans, boots, a merlot colored button shirt, and a brocade vest. And still, Lem had ten minutes to wait before the sun finally sank below the horizon. 

Lem hooked his thumbs behind the big buckle he wore, waiting as the seconds ticked by. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he was able to leave the pawn shop, and venture out into the night. With his vampiric speed, he didn’t need a vehicle. Normally, he wouldn’t use his supernatural abilities in such a blatant manner, but he was hungry to see Olivia. He needed to see that she was safe and unharmed. Events as of late had begun to take their toll on them.

Lemuel set foot inside the well-lit airport just in time to see Olivia emerging from a crowd of people. She had a slight edge of annoyance around her, but that melted away the moment she saw him standing there. Without a thought to any of the other humans there, especially the ones staring at him, crossed to her. Lem pulled Olivia close and kissed her incredibly soft, warm lips. In those few seconds, the world melted away until there was on Olivia in his arms. 

Olivia let go of her bags, freeing her hands to drape her arms over Lemuel’s shoulders. He held her close to him, his body telling her just how much he’d actually missed her. Then the tender moment was over, as they both realized they’d drawn the attention of several mundane people. She looked at a few of them, her expression clearly saying ‘Mind your own business’. Before she could actually say anything, Lem grabbed the handle of her rolling suitcase with his left hand, and took her left hand with his right. This left her picking up her shoulder bag. 

Outside, Lem waited until the traffic thinned enough for them to cross to the parking lot where Olivia was known to store her Range Rover. Everything he had to say to her could wait until they were inside her SUV. They had no way of knowing if her father had agents at the airport waiting to call in a sighting. 

Without having to use words, Olivia took her hand from Lem’s so she could fish out her car keys. When she handed them to him, she watched him pocket them, and then take hold of her hand again. It was comforting having this simple show of affection between them. To the outside observer, they were a normal couple, but they were anything but. She wouldn’t have it any other way. 

For the moment traffic was halted, and that allowed Lemuel and Olivia to cross over to the temporary parking lot. Ten rows in, he found her Range Rover, unlocked it, and set her bags in the trunk. She climbed in the passenger seat, allowing him to drive. Lem smirked at that. Normally, she was the one who drove. It was something she could control when much of her early life had been outside her control. Slipping in behind the wheel, he put the key in the ignition, but didn’t turn the engine over. 

Olivia looked at him, “What’s the matter, babe?” He didn’t answer her as he reached over to take her left hand. Automatically he laced their fingers together, bringing the back of her hand up where he placed a gentle kiss to her knuckles. Olivia’s heart fluttered. He was the only man that could make her feel love.

“I’m just glad you’re back,” Lem replied, before kissing the back of her hand again. After a few more moments, he let her go, and turned the key so they could return to Midnight. The drive back was made in relative silence, peaceable as it was. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her peeling the super glue off the pads of her fingers. He had once asked her about it, and she told him that it was the simplest way to ensure no finger prints were left behind. When he glanced over at her again, they were half way home, he noticed she’d fallen asleep. She’d had a long day.

Olivia didn’t know when she’d dozed off until her eyes were slowly opening. Lem had parked her SUV outside of the pawn shop, and he was standing with the passenger door open. She smiled a groggy smile when the back of his index finger caressed her cheek. Groaning, she stretched; her back arching. “When did I fall asleep?” Olivia asked, getting slowly out of the vehicle to stand on the sidewalk in front of Lem. 

“Two hours ago,” Lemuel answered as he took her hand. He pulled her close, nuzzling his nose in her long honey colored hair. “You smell amazing…” he sighed.

“Really?” Olivia stepped back, furrowing her brow. 

“Yes,” Lem nodded. “You smell like sunlight.” 

“You can smell that?” Curiously, Olivia sniffed at her forearm, but because she was human shouldn’t smell what Lemuel was smelling. All she could detect was the sun tan lotion she’d put on. Though, once she had a shower, even that slight trace would be gone. “I did lay out in the sun while I was on the boat today.” 

Lemuel said nothing, he just grinned. They were about to head inside when the roar of an engine broke the silence of the night. Lem and Olivia looked at the headlights coming up the road. 

Olivia automatically froze. She knew the sound of the truck engine, knew the headlights. “Quinn…” she muttered, trying not to look at Lem. She’d never told him about the werewolf that had trained her to do what she did. It was just another day in Midnight, Texas.

 

TBC:


	2. Chapter 2

Quinn Lykos rolled into Midnight knowing that the deadly Olivia Charity had just returned from her job in Florida. He parked at the curb; the front bumper nearly kissing the Ranger Rover’s. By the time the engine was silenced, there was a crowd watching in warily. When he got out, the small gathering of strangers had taken up a protective stance behind Olivia, and the talk dark vampire at her side. “Olivia,” Quinn greeted.

“Quinn,” Olivia nodded her head sharply. “What are you doing here?” She stood her ground, trying not appear hostile that he’d shown up in her town. They hadn’t parted on friendly terms, and she wasn’t eager to revisit their last topic of discussion. 

“I was out for a drive,” Quinn said conversationally.

“Sure…” Olivia didn’t exactly buy that explanation. “You chose to drive a thousand miles from your ranch in Wyoming, to this middle of nowhere place in Texas?” Back there, Quinn had his pack, his base of power. Back there he was alpha, and his word was law. It made no sense for him to be here, alone. “I’m not dealing with this tonight,” she shook her head, and started to go to the side door of the pawn shop. 

Quinn made a move to follow her, when the tall vampire stood between him and Olivia. The eerie ice blue eyes had a shiver slithering up his spine. Even though he was a powerful alpha werewolf, this vampire could easily match him, perhaps overpower him. Now was not the time to enter into a fight with him. 

When Olivia got to the door, she was keenly aware that Lem wasn’t with her. Looking over her shoulder, she saw he stood in front of Quinn, impeding his efforts to follow her. This was not what she needed tonight. With a huff, she came back, glaring at Quinn, “And where did you think you were going?”

“With you?” Quinn arched an eyebrow.

“Oh, no…” Olivia shook her head. “You’re sleeping outside.” 

“That’s not very hospitable for you,” Quinn pointed out, wryly. Olivia only rolled her eyes. 

“Hospitality is reserved for those who call ahead of time, not for those who show up in the middle of the night,” Lem stated, an icy edge to his voice. 

“I would say get a room at the hotel, but it’s out of business,” Olivia commented sarcastically. “Get your sleeping bag, big boy. You’re going camping.” And with that, she turned to get away from everyone. Except for Lem. She wanted him close. 

 

DOWNSTAIRS:

 

Lemuel closed the door to Olivia’s apartment, turning the deadbolt, just as he heard the water turn on. She was filling the tub to take a bath. It was her second favorite way to decompress; the first being sex. He left her suitcase in the main room, before he crossed the bedroom, and opened the doors to the spacious bathroom. Lem stood there for a moment admiring her. Oliva was already out of her shoes, jeans, and tank top. That left her body clad in a crimson colored bikini.

Olivia sighed from the feeling of Lem watching her. She finished pinning her long hair up, and then she turned to him. For right now, she needed to indulge in some sense of normalcy between them. They had a ritual for when she came home from a job, and she wanted to see that they followed through with it. If they didn’t, she might just go out and put a bullet in Quinn for the stunt he was pulling. It killed her that he just showed up. Lem was showing he had the patience of a saint. Gently, she set her hands on his chest. 

Lem set his hands on her waist, sliding them around to her back, and up to where the ties were for the top. Idly, he fiddled with them earning him a smile from her. He could see she was settling down, momentarily forgetting of the unexpected visitor.

“I know you want to ask,” Olivia stated, slipping her hands up to rest them on Lem’s shoulders. 

“Hmm…” Lemuel nodded. “True, but I’d much rather do this…” he pulled free the tie of her bikini. Then he repeated the action on the tie around the back of her neck. All the while he kept his gaze locked with hers. The material disappeared from her body leaving her clad in only the bikini bottoms. 

Olivia let her eyes roll back in her head. Even when he was leeching off of her energy, his touch had this calming effect on her. He skimmed his fingers down her sides until the encountered the ties at her hips. With a playful tug, they loosened and it fell from her body. She couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped her. Olivia felt her grin broaden when Lem took her hand, helping her into the warm bath. She sank down, the water coming up to her neck, and she sighed in pure contentment. No matter what was happening outside, all she knew that from her place in the claw foot tub, none of it could touch her.

Lemuel left Olivia so that she might begin relaxing. Once she had soaked in the warm water long enough, he would come back and ask her about the stranger that had come to town. Every sense he possessed told him this man was up to no good, and was a danger to everyone. Especially Olivia. Lem saw the way she tensed up, heard the cold steel of her voice. Whatever their past, he knew without a doubt that she had gone out of her way to forget everything; except what she had been taught. Until she was ready to talk, he was going to give her some peace. 

Olivia wasn’t neck deep in the relaxing bath long before she was calling out Lem’s name. She knew they had to talk about Quinn. It was the least she could do considering, when she asked, he’s readily told her about Zach. Within seconds, Lem was back in the bathroom with her. He set a chair next to the tub, and took a seat. She leaned her head back against the lip of the tub as she thought about where to start in her story. So, she just started talking. “You know about what happened to me when I was young, and that I escaped that life. Quinn is part of how I get my fresh start.”

Lemuel remained in his seat, his hands folded in his lap. “He took you in,” he stated, reading between the lines. She nodded in confirmation. 

“He found me in Seattle, at the airport. I was looking for a flight to anywhere, but I was young and alone, and I was drawing attention to myself. Quinn came over to me, very quietly he told me to pretend I was his uncle, and not to run. I thought he was sent by my father, but then I looked around and saw airport security watching me….” Olivia recalled that day with perfect clarity. She didn’t know what it had been about Quinn that made her do as he said. It was this air of strength he had, and that more than anything had her listening to him. 

“What happened?” Lem asked. This time he rested his right hand on the edge of the tub. 

“He took me up to the ticket counter, laying out this sob story about how my dad had just died, and that he was the only relative I had. He needed to purchase a ticket for me so that I could go live with him, starting my new life.” Olivia answered. She faked being sad, nearly on the brink of crying, and that moved the woman behind the counter. As she sighed, she placed her warm, wet hand over his. The coldness of his skin helped to ground her in the moment. 

“I’m assuming he took you to where he lived.” Lem turned his hand over, his thumb rubbing back and forth over her fingers. To this, she just nodded again. They both had painful pasts. He told her about his final days as a slave, his transformation, and the years spent murdering humans to quench his thirst. She confided in him about the abuse she’d suffered at the hands of her step mother. And now she was telling him about her training, about Quinn.

“Yeah, flew me first class to…” Olivia remarked, snidely. “I was planning to run the moment I got off the plane. Just vanish into the crowd, take another flight… But I didn’t. Something told me to stick with him, to see where this road was going to take me.” Now she knew that her time with Quinn, letting him train her, was one more stop on the road of her life that inevitably led her straight to Lemuel, and the town of Midnight. 

“Where did you finally end up?” Lem asked, moving to the edge of his seat. 

“Wyoming,” Olivia answered. “He had a ranch there, out in the middle of nowhere, and it was there I found out that he was a werewolf who trained killers.” Also, it was where he lived with his pack. Quinn trained them all; man, woman, and child to fight. She hadn’t been accepted right away until Quinn told them all that she would be staying, and that was that. She hated to admit it, but that night she had gotten her first uninterrupted sleep in a long time. 

“And soon after that, your training began?” Lem continued to rub his thumb back and forth over her knuckles. He was reassuring her with his touch, but he wasn’t sure what he was actually reassuring her against. All he knew was that his own senses were telling him Quinn could not be trusted with Olivia. Until he had something more to go on, he would keep his suspicions to himself. To voice them now would make him look like a jealous lover. Lemuel would never suffer such a stigma easily. 

“Yeah,” Olivia nodded. “He taught me how to spot supernaturals, how to track them, and how to kill them.” More often than not, her contracts were executed on humans. Though, there were times when the name of a supernatural being would come to her attention. Because of Quinn’s training, she was prepared for those jobs; most of the time. 

“What made you leave him, the sanctuary he provided you?” Lem asked, getting to what he really wanted to now.

This time Olivia took her hand out of his, looking away from him. If she was looking Lem in his startling blue eyes, then she would start to cry, and she didn’t want to do that. “I grew stronger, and older, and then Quinn didn’t see me as someone who needed his protection. He started to see me as someone he wanted to have an intimate relationship with. After being bought and sold so many times, the thought of it… with him….”

Lem waited for Olivia to look at him. He knew how hard it was for her to talk about her past; the dark things that had been done to her. When her past came back to haunt her, she would somehow be close enough to him so that he could leech off her torment. Lem was always willing to do it because it brought her some measure of momentary peace.

“Before, when Quinn had long hair and a beard, I could forget that he almost looked like those men who bought me. Then I turned twenty-one, and decided that our relationship should change from teacher/student to lovers.” Olivia knew her tone carried bitterness, and she was glad. The thought of it made her feel sick to her stomach.

“Do you believe that’s why he’s here; to lay claim to you?” Lem held out his hand, palm up.

Olivia said nothing, just nodded. She placed her hand in his once more, sitting up she rested her forehead against his upper arm. She felt him lean over her, his lips kissing the top of her head gently. Lem was the one man she knew she could count on, and trust with her heart as bruised and broken as it was. 

The suspicions Lemuel had been confirmed through Olivia’s words. He would have keep a watchful eye on Quinn and be prepared to act should the werewolf make a move against Olivia. When it was revealed where her heart truly lay, Quinn could become enraged. “I won’t let him take you away from me,” Lemuel vowed. 

“I’ll kill him if he tries,” Olivia replied. 

 

THE NEXT AFTERNOON:

 

Olivia was lying awake in bed, with the satin sheet bunched down around her waist. By morning, Lem was safe from the sunlight in his dark room. She missed the cool weight of him at her side, his arm slung over her abdomen, and his lips were pressed against her shoulder. Most people would have issues with waking up next to a cold, deathly still body in their bed. But not Olivia. His cool body was in no way a reminder of all those sweaty men who bought her for their perverted pleasure. 

Reluctantly, Olivia got out of bed and went to her closet. She chose black jeans, and a long sleeved grey shirt with thumb holes. Afterwards, she sat in one of the red chairs, and put on her boots. Olivia sat back with a sigh. She didn’t want to leave her apartment, but she was hungry, and Madonna had her fried chicken on the menu for lunch today. The thought of Madonna’s cooking had her salivating, and hunger always won out.

Olivia left her apartment, once more lamenting her conscious state, and ascended the steps that led her to the landing. She could either take the door to her left and enter the pawn shop. Bobo would have it closed for an hour while he was out to lunch. No point going in there. She took the door to her right that led her out to the street. The sun was bright, making her blink while she growled in annoyance. She made her way down the street, passed Manfred’s retro RV, where she crossed the road, and jogged up the three steps. 

Inside, Olivia scanned the main room on her way to the Midnighter’s Room, where locals ate. At one of the center tables was Quinn. He had a bite of very rare steak halfway to his mouth. She didn’t shudder in disgust. She swallowed hard in hunger. One of the things she carried with her from her time with Quinn, and his pack, was the taste of rare steak. 

Olivia dropped into one of the chairs in the Midnighter’s room, sitting across from Bobo, who was conversing with Fiji in hushed whispers and light giggles. She couldn’t help glowering at them. As happy as she was that Fiji and Bobo seemed to be getting their act together, it irritated her that she couldn’t be like that with Lem during the day. It was hard seeing as he is a vampire. The minute the sun touched him, he’d be reduced to a pile of ash. Olivia would never trade what they had so they could walk in the light together. She loved living at night with him.

Fiji glanced over at Olivia and sighed. “You ok?” she asked.

“Eh,” Olivia shrugged her left shoulder. Her eyes remained on the door that separated the main dining room from their room. Something told her that Quinn would be traipsing through that door when he was finished eating. 

“Does your mood have anything to do with that newcomer?” Fiji asked.

“Just wish he’d leave already. He doesn’t belong here.” Olivia tapped her right index finger on the table top. 

“Who is he, if you don’t mind me askin’?” Bobo spoke, drawing Olivia’s angry eyes. 

“Someone from my past.” Olivia answered, her words came out harsh even though she didn’t mean them to. Foolishly, she thought, she hoped, Quinn would have forgotten about her after their altercation on the night she left his ranch. That night hadn’t been pretty. She’d shot him when he tried to keep her from leaving. 

“Afternoon, Olivia…” 

Olivia glared at Quinn as he stood, leaning against one of the open doors. “Technically… it’s my morning,” she snarled. 

“Right…” Quinn drew out that word. “You like to sleep with corpses now.” He couldn’t keep the note of revulsion from his voice. 

“On a hot Texas night when the A/C goes out, a cold body is better than a hot blooded one.” Olivia snarled. She pushed herself away from the table. Quinn being in her town, clean shaven and standing tall made her uncomfortable. It was a feeling she hated. It was a feeling that had the potential to make her reckless. 

Quinn growled. 

“Save it,” Olivia snapped. “That stopped working on me a long time ago.”

Without thought to who saw, Quinn grabbed Olivia’s upper arm, hauling her in close. “Don’t forget, I made you what you are. I made you the weapon you are.”

On instinct, Olivia pulled a knife, putting the tip of the blade between the third and fourth rib. “I am a weapon, but I’m not yours.” She applied a little pressure to make sure he understood. In his eyes she could see he was going to force the issue, but not today.


End file.
